Section Branding
Header Content
Health Officials: Unvaccinated Family Caused Largest Measles Outbreak In Georgia Since 2000
Primary Content
The Georgia Department of Public Health says a recent measles outbreak has been contained without any secondary infections.
Eleven people became sick from the measles last month in Cobb County, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health. This was the largest outbreak of measles in the state since the disease had been declared eradicated in 2000.GPB's Ellen Eldridge reports on the measles outbreak in Cobb County last month. Eleven people were affected, but no secondary cases were reported after the incubation period ended.
DPH epidemiologist Dr. Cherie Drenzek said the cause of the outbreak was an unvaccinated family whose measles cases were not reported to the state. Five previously unreported cases of measles were discovered in one Cobb County family in early October.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE:
- 'Likely Source' Of Cobb County Measles Outbreak Identified By Health Department
- Unvaccinated Cobb County Student May Have Spread Measles, Health Department Says
- 3 More Measles Cases Reported In Cobb County
Health officials identified 50 people who were possibly exposed during the outbreak and susceptible to infection. Many were infants too young to vaccinate, but others were older.
“They may have been adults who were unvaccinated or kids that were unvaccinated, that weren't infants or they were immunocompromised individuals,” Drenzek said.
In Georgia, about 90.7% of children receive an MMR vaccination before 35 months of age, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Georgia’s had 18 cases of measles this year, more than double the number the state has seen over the last decade.
In January, the first three cases of measles in 2019 were confirmed in the Atlanta area.
Secondary Content
Bottom Content
